TRAINING THE NEW SCIENTISTS OF AGING: BUILDING ON GEROSCIENCE OPPORTUNITIES

Abstract Geroscience is focused on improving health and well-being by beneficially altering or reversing the cellular and molecular changes that take place as we age. These changes, uncovered by the biology of aging research, can contribute to a progressive loss of function and the onset of frailty and many diseases prevalent at older ages. In the 21st century there is a need for increased engagement with researchers and clinicians across multiple disciplines to translate these geroscience discoveries more effectively into new medical advances. This presentation will highlight efforts to increase awareness and understanding of these geroscience discoveries to stakeholder groups and to build a more diverse and interdisciplinary geroscience workforce, including researchers, clinicians, and members of the public. To date, there are creative education programs aimed at enhancing and expanding broader awareness of geroscience research (e.g., skills development, hands-on research experiences, formal curriculum informed in the science of aging, engagement activities dealing with ethical, economic, political and societal ramifications of extending human lifespan, development of shared methods, networking with experts in the geroscience field, materials and outreach programs on the topic of geroscience), which target basic, translational, clinical researchers and members of the public. Lastly, this presentation will outline the activities within the Translational Rehabilitation in Geroscience Initiative and the Translational Geroscience Network, a collaboration of researchers looking at clinical interventions that target fundamental mechanism of aging to delay, prevent or treat age-related diseases and disabilities as a group, instead of one at a time, enabling more-rapid translation of therapies.

Tamar Shovali, Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, Florida, United States Intergenerational relationships are necessary to prepare the workforce for careers in the field of gerontology.Intergenerational interaction and reflection have been shown to result in valuable skills, such as positive attitudes toward older adults, increased knowledge of aging and needs of older adults, genuine relationships with older adults and a greater appreciation for older generations, greater comfort with the idea of themselves aging, and high satisfaction when embedded into course curriculum.Intergenerational contact in the structure of undergraduate courses also has reciprocal benefits, such as recognizing commonalities, building appreciation and trust, and creating a sense of belonging between generations that can be lasting.Building on empirical evidence, an intensive three-week intergenerational relationships course for first year students using intentional integration with general education goals, while also training students in basic understanding of aging is described here.Students collaborated with the college's Academy of Senior Professionals, a unique community of retired older adults engaged in lifelong learning, to develop a college-wide intergenerational event.Considerations, outcomes, and lessons learned will be reviewed.

TRAINING THE NEW SCIENTISTS OF AGING: BUILDING ON GEROSCIENCE OPPORTUNITIES LaDora Thompson, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Geroscience is focused on improving health and well-being by beneficially altering or reversing the cellular and molecular changes that take place as we age.These changes, uncovered by the biology of aging research, can contribute to a progressive loss of function and the onset of frailty and many diseases prevalent at older ages.In the 21st century there is a need for increased engagement with researchers and clinicians across multiple disciplines to translate these geroscience discoveries more effectively into new medical advances.This presentation will highlight efforts to increase awareness and understanding of these geroscience discoveries to stakeholder groups and to build a more diverse and interdisciplinary geroscience workforce, including researchers, clinicians, and members of the public.To date, there are creative education programs aimed at enhancing and expanding broader awareness of geroscience research (e.g., skills development, hands-on research experiences, formal curriculum informed in the science of aging, engagement activities dealing with ethical, economic, political and societal ramifications of extending human lifespan, development of shared methods, networking with experts in the geroscience field, materials and outreach programs on the topic of geroscience), which target basic, translational, clinical researchers and members of the public.Lastly, this presentation will outline the activities within the Translational Rehabilitation in Geroscience Initiative and the Translational Geroscience Network, a collaboration of researchers looking at clinical interventions that target fundamental mechanism of aging to delay, prevent or treat age-related diseases and disabilities as a group, instead of one at a time, enabling more-rapid translation of therapies.

SEX AND GENDER DIFFERENCES
Abstract citation ID: igad104.0941

ASSESSING THE PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF THE GERIATRIC SUICIDE IDEATION SCALE IN MIDDLE-AGED AND OLDER MEN
Marnin Heisel 1 , and Gordon Flett 2 , 1. University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada, 2. York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Middle-aged and older men have high rates of suicide, necessitating risk detection.We developed the Geriatric Suicide Ideation Scale (GSIS; Heisel & Flett, 2006) as an age-specific, multidimensional suicide risk assessment tool.The GSIS has shown strong psychometric properties in clinical, community, and residential samples (see Heisel & Flett, 2016), yet research has lagged investigating its utility with middle-aged and older men.The purpose of the present study was thus to assess the psychometric properties of the GSIS administered to 82 men, 55 years and older (M=63.3,SD=4.6 years), who participated in a meaning-centered psychological intervention group for those concerned about or struggling with the transition to retirement (Heisel et al., 2020).Psychometric analyses included investigation of participant response characteristics, internal consistency, and construct validity.Findings demonstrated acceptable internal consistency for GSIS totals (α =.88) and for its Suicide Ideation, Death Ideation, Loss of Personal and Social Worth, and Perceived Meaning in Life subscales (α =.62-.81).Positive associations between the GSIS and negative psychological factors (depression, anxiety, hopelessness, loneliness, perceived lack of mattering to others, and history of suicidal behavior; r =.30 to .51) and negative associations with positive factors (life satisfaction, psychological well-being, perceived support, and meaning in life; r = -.21 to -.51) supported its construct validity.These and other findings will be discussed in the broader context of upstream population level approaches to suicide risk detection and prevention.(Note: this abstract was accepted for the 2022 GSA meeting, but we had to withdraw due to family loss) Abstract citation ID: igad104.0942

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN ANXIETY AMONG OLDER ADULTS: THE MEDIATION ROLE OF OUT-OF-HOME ACTIVITY
Lingming Chen 1 , Elizabeth Procter-Gray 1 , Linda Churchill 2 , Annabella Aguirre 1 , Jie Cheng 1 , Qun Le 1 , Scott Crouter 3 , and Wenjun Li Research shows gender differences in anxiety.Given that men and women have different levels of out-of-home activity and out-of-home activity is associated with anxiety, this study examines if gender differences in anxiety are mediated by out-of-home activity among older adults.The prospective cohort study enrolled 303 women and men aged 65 to 95 years old in central Massachusetts (2018Massachusetts ( -2020)).Anxiety was evaluated by the Beck Anxiety Inventory.The out-ofhome activity was measured by the percentage of daily step counts outside the home, which was objectively assessed by accelerometer and Global Positioning System devices.Data were analyzed by using mediation analysis, controlling demographic (age, race/ethnicity), physical health (self-rated health, comorbidities), and mental health (depressive symptoms, perceived stress).Results showed that women reported significantly greater scores in anxiety and did less out-ofhome activity than men.Furthermore, out-of-home activity was significantly associated with anxiety.With the bootstrapping procedure, a significant indirect effect of gender on anxiety through out-of-home activity was shown (indirect effect: 0.025; 95% CI: 0.002-0.078),which explained 12% of the total effect (total effect: 0.214; 95% CI: 0.032-0.396).In conclusion, out-of-home activity partially mediates gender differences in anxiety.This study indicates that increasing out-of-home activities may help reduce anxiety and gender differences in anxiety among older adults.

NINE-YEAR ASSOCIATION OF OPTIMISM AND COGNITIVE FUNCTIONING IN A COHORT OF AGING MEN
Victoria Marino 1 , Samsuk Kim 2 , Avron Spiro 3 , and Lewina Lee 4 , 1. Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine,Boston,Massachusetts,United States,2. The VA Boston Healthcare System,Boston,Massachusetts,United States,3. VA Boston Healthcare System,Boston,Massachusetts,United States,4. Boston University School of Medicine,Boston,Massachusetts,United States Higher levels of optimism have been linked to better physical and emotional health, and growing evidence suggests optimism may also protect against cognitive impairment and decline.However, our understanding of its prospective associations with cognitive functioning is limited.We examined 9-year associations of optimism with cognitive functioning among 793 men from the VA Normative Aging Study.Optimism was assessed via the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 in 1986 (baseline: AgeM = 60.1,SD=7.1).Cognitive functioning was measured at participants' earliest cognitive testing occasion between 1993 and 1996.We considered both global cognition (MMSE) and three domains of cognitive functioning: executive function (verbal fluency via Animal Naming Test, working memory via WAIS-R Digit Span Backward), short-term memory (immediate and delayed CERAD Word List Recall), and visuospatial ability (CERAD and VMI spatial copying, NES-2 Pattern Comparison).Analyses used ordinary least squares regression adjusted for childhood socioeconomic status, and demographics and major diseases at baseline.Optimism was not associated with global cognition.However, higher optimism was associated with better verbal fluency (B=0.48,SE=0.19,p=.01)and immediate word list recall (B=0.33,SE=0.15, 95% CI .04-.62, p=.02), and weakly associated with delayed word list recall (B=0.14, SE=0.07, 95% CI -.01-.28, p=.06).Optimism was not associated with visuospatial ability or working memory performance.Our findings suggest that optimism could be particularly important for verbally mediated aspects of